Protein and Breakfast?

“But what about my cereal? “  “I love my Danish and coffee.”

“It’s almost Anti-American not to have cereal or pastry for breakfast, isn’t it?”

What are the facts?  We are the most insulin resistant in the morning due to sleeping for 6-8 hours.  As the day progresses we’re moving around, increasing activity and getting on with the day.  This activity makes insulin more efficient and ready to work.

Eating an average bowl of cereal with milk contains approximately 60-70 grams of carbohydrate or 4-5 slices worth of bread.  How can that be a good start to your day?  Or how about a 60-gram carbohydrate bagel worth 4 slices of bread?

Studies show eating a strong protein breakfast within an hour of waking up can increase your metabolic rate, lower insulin resistance and stabilize your blood sugar for the rest of the day.  Sounds like a good trade-off to me.

How does that break down – what are some examples of a high protein breakfast? 

1. 2-3 eggs with veggies, an ounce of cheese (about 20-25 grams of protein) and sliced fruit or tomatoes on the side
2. 1 cup of plain Greek Yogurt (about 20 grams of protein) with 2-3 tablespoons of raw nuts and your choice of fruit
3. 1 cup of cottage cheese (30 grams of protein) with fruit and 2-3 tablespoons of nuts
4. Smoothie with protein powder, milk/yogurt, and fruit

Most of the above breakfast options are easy, portable, high in protein and contain approximately 15-30 grams of carbohydrate which is a reasonable amount for your am insulin to handle.

If you’ve been to Europe or abroad they eat a little cheese, yogurt, an egg, some fruit and maybe a croissant but it is not the core of the breakfast.

What happens if you eat a high protein breakfast?  It results in a more even blood sugar and appetite for the remainder of the day with less chance of binging, grasping for food or candy at the office; increased energy and less chance of weight gain.  In addition, it can improve your sleep and increase your sense of health and well being.

Sound too good to be true?  Try a 30-day experiment of having a high protein breakfast and get back to me.  You might complain about missing cereal but you won’t complain about the benefits you’re experiencing.

Shrink your Waist with Sleep and Protein

 “I’m hungry Mother, I really am,” said the little puppy Rolly on 101 Dalmatians.

I often hear “I’m always hungry; I don’t feel full after a meal; I still want something after I eat but I can’t put my finger on it.”

Appetite is affected by both physiological and psychological issues.  Since the psychological may be a whole research paper in itself let’s stick to the physiological things you can do to keep your appetite normal and healthy.

Two hormones affecting appetite are Leptin and Ghrelin.  An easy way to remember them is leptin lowers your appetite and ghrelin grows your appetite.  When they are in sync your appetite is in line with your metabolism.  Things that can throw them off are lack of sleep and imbalances in the diet.

If your sleep is compromised it affects your hunger levels.  Eve Van Cauter at the University of Chicago has done 25 years of research on how hormones affect sleep.  Her research shows that when you are sleep deprived your leptin levels are 18% lower and your Ghrelin levels are 28 percent higher.

Her subjects also reported they were much hungrier than usual and craved salty, sweet food when they lacked sleep.  Think of late night pizza and nachos when you stayed up too long.  Craving salty, sweet food and increasing leptin and lowering ghrelin are the perfect combination for weight gain.

Appetite can also be thrown off by the wrong combination of carbohydrate, protein and fat.  David Cummings, M.D. at the University School of Medicine in Seattle found that protein was the best suppressor of appetite.  Fats seemed to have a neutral affect.

Carbohydrates initially lowered the appetite, but then rebounded later with a vengeance.  I still remember my days of eating a “healthy” bowl of cereal for breakfast only to be famished 2 hours later – unaware that it was due to a lack of protein at the most important meal of the day.

Good sources of protein include:

• lean meats, poultry, fish
• eggs
• plain yogurt, cottage cheese, hard cheeses
• nuts/seeds and nut butters

Take home message?  Getting your rest and making sure you eat some sort of protein at each meal and snack will keep your appetite even keeled.  So maybe a good idea is to eat your protein and get some rest with Rolly.  What have you got to lose…besides weight?

This piece is part of Prevention not Prescriptions